Opinions on Match Cancellation due to Undesirable Weather

[dpb5031]

So here's my sour grapes story lol ?:

I'm kinda the new guy at my club having only been there 1 year since moving to FL. We have a great group, over 36 guys. Our "commissioner" runs the group and although the club sponsors the tournament, does the scoreboard, etc., and the event is open to all, the Commish is basically the Tournament Committee by himself.

We are in the midst of our President's Cup (net match play at 100% HC). I won my first match and was asked by my next opponent to play this past Wednesday. I agreed. (We have one week, Sun-Sat, to get the matches in, but we schedule on our own.)

So Tuesday of last week my opponent texts me to say that the weather didnt look great for Wed, but looked better for Friday, so would I like to reschedule? Unable to play Friday, I texted back that I'd prefer to keep it as planned.

So Wed I pull into the lot and he's standing by his car. As soon as I get out he says, "it's too f'n cold, I'm not playin' in this sh!t, you can have it!" I said, "c'mon, it's not that bad, dont be a p'ssy...lol!"

Long story short, our commissioner ended up letting him out of the match in spite of the fact that 8 guys still played on Wed. (I shot 70). The course was open and perfectly playable, but it WAS cold & really windy.

Our match got rescheduled for today (Sat) in spite of me expressing displeasure about the whole deal. Beyond voicing my objection, I didn't want to be overly difficult and make trouble, and would never want it to be decided by forfeit anyway.

So we played today. I'm a +1, and my opponent is scratch, so he got one shot. Anyway, I lost 1 down on 18 . He played great, literally making putts of more than 8 feet on each of the last 5 holes. He earned the win today, but in my view the match should've been played on Wed as planned. (First world problems, I know...lol?)

Curious how the GolfWRX community feels about this scenario and would like to hear your thoughts?

 

[Sawgrass]

If my opponent showed up on time on an agreed upon day, and then refused to play due to his preference for different weather, I’d have zero problem accepting his forfeit/my victory. Which is how this tale should have ended.

Suppose, for example, you actually prefer to play in bad weather since you’re good at withstanding it. And the day you mutually agree on turns out to be bad weather as you might hope. Your opponent gets another bite at the apple? I don’t think so.

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

This. Should have taken the win. But he’s a sissy, yeah.

[Colin L]

The the statement "I'm not playin' in this ****, you can have it!" is a concession of the match in my view and cannot be changed/r

[dpb5031]

Thanks guys! I'm kinda bitter about it. I consider myself a gritty competitor and would never bail out like my opponent did. In fact, I was looking forward to scrapping it out in the cold & wind.

In the end it's not worth making a big fuss about, but I did feel the need to vent!

[LeoLeo99]

He's friends with the commish.

+1 vs 0 is a fine match. Congrats on being a playa. I topped a 6 iron from 165 yesterday and it rolled on the green. Wasn't sure to be happy or upset. A playa would just laugh.

Reread sour grapes to get the full meaning. Don't think you're using it correctly. For sour grapes, you'd have to say it was a lame tournament full of sandbaggers and wasn't worth your time.

You sound like a mensch.

How cold is cold to you? How cold could it be in Florida? I played in 25F wind chill last week. Your Florida boy needs to man up.

[shaneyank]

I found my self in a very similar situation once, so I empathize. I'm really surprised you were not awarded the forfeit. Out of curiosity, did the commissioner give a reason for his decision? Did your opponent put up a fight, did you offer to reschedule or something else?

[Sean2]

Should not have cancelled it. Played today with temps in the low 40s and it wasn't that bad. Of course, I don't know what "cold" in Florida is. :-)

Plus, since when does a player on the opposing team get to make decisions on what weather is playable or not?

[dpb5031]

Too funny! Was 41 degrees on my car thermometer when I rolled up. Wind was about 25 mph for a "real feel" of around 29 when we arrived. It warmed up pretty quickly though...

Keep in mind this is south Florida and probably the coldest day we'll see all winter. The first 4 or 5 holes were pretty cold, but after that it wasn't too bad. ?

[Augster]

Once he refused to play, and conceded the match, it was over. You and he both should have texted/emailed/called the commish on the spot so that he was aware of the concession/refusal to play.

[dpb5031]

Ha...agree, but Commish was in the proshop and also decided not to play. He wasnt playing a President's Cup match though, just a regular game.

Maybe I should note that since moving down here I've taken over as the best player (most $/lowest HC) in the group. I've noticed over the years that it's human nature for others to want to knock you off your perch if you're doing too well!(relatively of course)

[dpb5031]

I expressed emphatically that it wasn't right for him to refuse to play because of the conditions as long as the course was open/playable. I also stated that I really didn't want to win by forfeit; I wanted to play as planned!

[Hawkeye77]

Forfeit should have been awarded. I'm guessing you were still a gentleman about it during the actual match and there will be other matches, so good for you.

But, in the long run sounds like they may learn you don't tug on Superman's cape!

[Warrior42111]

Grew up in MA now live in FL. Was high 30s when I rolled into the office, and the amount of Michelin man looking people was ridiculous.

from my observation the Florida man begins their panic at high 50s and once it hits the 40s they like the iguanas pretty much fold up and temporarily die

[nsxguy]

I don't know where you are Sean but if you're in a northern clime where the daytime temperature is routinely around the freezing mark and you get a 49 degree day you go out in shorts and a tee shirt. Been there, done that.

When you're in South Florida and the daytime temp is routinely 75 or so and it's 49 degrees it ain't chilly, it's COLD !!! LOL

 

[DavePelz4]

If you agreed to a date and time and either of you wanted to play, it's game on and if someone chooses not to play, the match is over.

[rogolf]

Agree, see Rule 5.7a for a similar situation in match play. If one player wants to resume play, the other player must resume play. It must be mutual.

[antip]

Absolutely right. The Commish erred, the Rules (3.2b(2)) are very clear. "A concession is final and cannot be declined or withdrawn." At least a high quality match resulted and they are fun.

[Sean2]

I know, it's all relative right? A 49º day in winter is a gift from the golf gods...assuming there is no snow on the ground, lol.

One winter break during college, we left Chicago for Houston. When we left, the wind chills were -5º. We get to Houston and start working the next day building houses. We show up in sweatshirts, and the rest of the crew were wearing coats, stocking hats, and gloves. They thought we were crazy, lol.

[dpb5031]

Thanks guys! By the letter of the law, I agree wholeheartedly. Thing is, I would have actually felt even worse had I won by forfeit.

Again, I suppose I'm just venting more than anything and looking for some validation of my frustration with the entire situation, and I certainly appreciate all of the responses.

It sucks that it went down this way. Would've been awesome to duke it out in the cold & wind. In my view that's part of the fun of competition.

We actually had a great match today, both of us played well, and it came down to the very end. Maybe I was just hoping karma would be on my side given the circumstances.

Yes, it's not a major championship or anything, but I can tell you definitively that I would not be feeling great about it all if I were in his shoes.

[Hawkeye77]

Been there in a much lesser way. Last match play match I played was three years ago I think. Tied on 18, friend I was playing was lost in very long thick grass near the green, helped him look forever, at least 10 minutes plus. He called it lost finally just as another friend showed up to see how the match went and that guy said he'd help look and we were at it again, lol, but only for about 30 seconds because he found it. Ended up losing on the first extra hole and no big deal. We knew his ball was up there and I'd have felt pretty badly if we had left it at the match was over after timing a 5 minute search and then the ball was found - no way I'm wanting to win like that and was glad we carried on.

[dpb5031]

That's brutal, but I get it. It's not very gratifying to win by a rules technicality, and you'd likely feel like a pr!ck if you called him out and made a big fuss about it. Almost a no win situation save for beating him in the playoff. Very similar to my deal this week.

Club championship is coming up in a few weeks. Hopefully I can summon my "A" game...

[BB28403]

In a way, he gamed you. But don’t cry over spilled milk. I think if you had of acted like “no big deal” and not complained or got upset it would have helped the overall situation. He may have even thought to himself that he played you, so that’s how to counter that, not care.

I just say ??‍♂️ People are funny. Life is a game of chess sometimes. That’s crazy he made all those putts! Geez man! Feel for you.

[charli]

How cold and windy are we talking?

[dpb5031]

Actually that's exactly what I did...never made a big fuss other than my initial ribbing of him and voicing my desire to play on the agreed upon day to the Commish. I showed up today, wished him luck and played without saying a word about it. I was very cognizant about potentially being gamed, but also really just wanted to beat him in spite of it all. Unfortunately, the putts dropped for him while I burned edges. In the end I shook his hand, congratulated him and went in for a drink with the boys.

I saved all my whining for you guys...lol! ?

[DavePelz4]

Classy move DP. There are a lot of people that could learn from your respectful approach.

[dpb5031]

It was around 40 on my car thermometer with 25 mph winds. Phone said "real feel" of around 29. It's Florida though, and this was at 8:30 a.m., so it warmed up significantly as the day progressed.

Ironically, we're both from NJ and have played plenty in cold temps up there...lol!

[charli]

ha why I’m asking I’m also from jersey. And if it’s warming up then he had no excuse. If that was the high yeah fine I get it.

[Sawgrass]

”By the letter of the law, I agree wholeheartedly. Thing is, I would have actually felt even worse had I won by forfeit.”DPB, I beseech you to rethink this quote. Have more respect for the Rules. Golf is hard enough. The rules, which you abide by even when it hurts, should be equally abided by when they serve you.

Is it more fun beating the guy with your skill? Sure, but that’s not what was offered to you that day. There’s certainly no reason to feel ”worse” because some jerk chickened out.

 

 

[BB28403]

You know that’s a good point. When you are scratch you should be scratch or +1 whenever and wherever. Some general ? said “We did not pick this battle location but by god we will fight here.” Something about a Union army and some little town... haha.

hope it for goes better next time dpb